“You are now in the custody of the Miaojing Coal Mine. You belong to them and I am the keeper. You will do exactly as you are told and when you are told. If you disobey an order from one of the foremen you will be immediately punished. Anyone not working and meeting his quota will not receive food. Food is life. If you do not work you will not live very long. Anyone attempting to escape will be shot. You will not be given a second chance. This is the only chance you have. You work until your sentence is finished.
You can forget about your families and loved ones. You are already dead to them. Most have already been informed of your sentence and many will have their property seized because of what you have done. You are fortunate to be here now. Winter is very harsh in this region. You will each be assigned a team to work with. The entire team is responsible for making the day’s quota. Each person has to work hard to ensure that the amount required is met. Any team that does not reach its quota will go without food. Does anyone have any questions?” he asked.
No one dared to speak out.
“Good. Now you will be assigned to your teams. When they call your name you will go to the designated area,” he said.
They all stood as each man’s name was called and they were sent to one team or another.
“Ky Kinjo”
He stepped forward.
“You are on team three of the Miaojing mine C,” he was told.
He took his place with the others assigned to the same place. It was well after dark before he was led to a building that would become his home for the next twenty years or until he died.
It seemed like he had just lay on the lumpy mattress of straw when the lights came on and a loud bugle sounded.
“Team three. Get up. Get up,” a guard yelled at them as the men scrambled out of the bunks.
“You have five minutes to get dressed and be outside,” he ordered and they began scrambling for their clothes.
Once outside they were led to another large building where they were issued one pair of pants, a shirt, one pair of under garments and a pair of boots. No one asked the size, they were just shoved at them. They were led outside where they stripped out of their prison clothes and dressed in the new ones.
Ky shoes were far too big for him but he decided that was better than being too small. Maybe he could trade with someone later. After they were dressed they were marched to the entrance of the C mine shaft. Some of the men were given a pick and shovel. Others were handed long steel poles that looked like chisels. He was handed a long pick with a hook on the end. He had no idea what it was for but he would soon find out.
They were given hardhats with lights on them and loaded into low carts. As they started to enter the mine the driver warned them to bend down and not to raise their heads. The cart raced through the cave and Ky soon was totally lost. They had taken so many turns that he no longer had any idea which direction the entrance was. Finally the car stopped in a larger cavern. Men were poking and pulling down coal and the air was filled with dust. It was extremely hot and humid.
“Watch what the others are doing. You will be replacing them in just a few minutes. Look at the tools they are using and that will be your job as well when their shift is over,” the driver said.
He watched as a man with a long pick like the one he held was working with another man with the long chisel. One would poke into the coal several times before the other would work with him to finally bring down a large piece of coal. The dust would fill the area for a few minutes but the men kept working.
A shrill whistle sounded and those working stopped and started walking toward the car.
“Go! You have no time to stand around,” the driver said.
Ky walked over to where the two men had been working and as they walked by he tried to ask them a question but they just walked on by, too exhausted to even talk. Another man with a chisel joined him and they started to try to do what the others had been doing but it was much harder than they expected.
The coal looked soft but it took a great amount of work to finally bring a piece down. Even then it was not nearly as big as what the others had managed.
“Get your backs into it,” a man screamed at them and they immediately began to work faster.
No matter how hard they tried they could not accomplish the same feat as the others before them. The man continued to yell at them and at one time grabbed the pick from Ky and started pulling down large chunks of coal.
“Like that,” he said and thrust the pick back into Ky’s hands.
They worked for another two hours before a whistle sounded again.
“Thank you,” Ky whispered but his happiness was short lived.
A car had arrived with food. They were each given a scoop of rice and a slice of bread. Water was in a large container with just one cup.
“You have ten minutes,” he man said looking at his watch.
The men stuffed the food in their mouths and scrambled to get a drink before the whistle sounded.
He was just about to reach for the cup when the harsh sound of the whistle echoed through the cavern. The car immediately took off and headed back down the tunnel. Ky went back to work. He lost all track of time as he continued to work, sweating and breathing in the dust swirling around him.
When the next whistle sounded the men all piled back on the car and were taken back to the entrance.
They handed in their tools and walked slowly back to the building that housed them. They were black with soot and grime as they filed back in the bunk room. There was a shower room and Ky dropped his dirty clothes and turned on the shower. Cold water cascaded out of the faucet but he didn’t care. Anything was better than the grime that covered his face and hands.
With no soap, he was only able to remove some of the grunge from his body. There were no towels to dry off with. He put on his undergarments and slid into bed. Others were already asleep and some were snoring. Ky lay there for a few minutes thinking about all that had happened in such a short time. He fell asleep wondering what had finally happened to Sandy.
At the end of the first week, Ky was not sure how he could survive another day let alone twenty years. Every part of his body ached and his hands were a mass of blisters.
He was not the only one who felt that way. One of the other new men had started yelling and running down the tunnels. He was caught and shot. Ky wondered if he could be that brave. At least it was all over for that poor soul. He still did not know the name of the man he worked with. Neither had the energy to talk. The work went on and somehow Ky found the strength to keep going. He fashioned a scarf out of an old rag he found and started wearing it every day. It didn’t keep everything out but it was better than nothing. Soon others were doing the same thing.
Day after day dragged on. Each day he would get up, work in the mine and come back and fall asleep. Even food seemed unimportant but he knew he had to eat or he would die. He began to hide some away for when winter came. That is when he would need food the most.
It was at this time that he learned how harsh life could get as if it wasn’t bad enough already. They had just gotten to bed when the guard came in blaring the bugle that they had all learned to hate by this time.
“Out,” he shouted, “Everyone out. You have three minutes.”
The men climbed out of bed groaning and dressed. They shuffled out of the building and into the courtyard. The fat bespectacled man was standing on the platform.
“Someone has stolen from the mine. One of you has taken extra clothing. This will not be tolerated. I want whoever it was to step forward right now and return the clothing,” he said with his arms folded.
No one moved.
“You will obey my orders,” he suddenly screamed.
It was all Ky could do to keep from laughing he sounded so much like a girl. One of the other men standing near Ky had to bit his lip to keep from smiling as well.
“Who was it? If you know, you would be wise to tell me right now,” he shouted.
Still no one came forward or said a thing.
“Very well. Have it your way. You will tell me who did this in time. I have all the time in the world,” he said and walked back down the stairs and into his quarters.
No one was sure what to do next. They had not been told they could leave but they hadn’t been specifically told to stay either. Finally some of the men started toward one of the buildings and a guard pulled out his gun and shot the man in the head. The others stopped and looked at the man with wide eyes. The guard aimed at another of the men and pulled the trigger and the side of his head exploded as well. The rest rushed back to where the others were still standing.
It was totally silent in the courtyard. They stood there until the sun started to come up. The sky had turned a light shade of pink and orange. Many of the men had fallen to the ground during the night and others had tried to stand or lean against each other. Ky sat with his back to another man for most of the night.
“Get to work,” the guards started yelling.
They kicked and punched on the men until they were all on their feet and heading to the tool shed. They were taken back into the mines with no sleep and immediately put to work. The food was only half of the normal amount.
“I can’t stand this much longer,” his partner said quietly as they walked back to work.”
“What other choice do we have?”
“There are more of us than them. We can overpower them,” he said.
“That is crazy. They have guns. They will kill us.”
“They are killing us now,” he said as they went back to work dragging down more hunks of coal.
At the end of the shift they were ordered into the courtyard once again.
“Where is the clothing?” the fat little man asked but once again no one came forward.
“Have it your way,” he said and left once again.
This time whenever someone lay down the guards would kick them until they sat up. Ky didn’t know what to do. He thought the idea was crazy. If they tried to overpower the guards they would all be hunted down and killed. Maybe not right away but eventually they would be found. If he told anyone about what his partner said he might be implicated as well. He had no idea what he should do.
Ky saw his work partner looking around at the guards. He was talking softly to the men next to him and they kept looking at the guards. Finally they quit talking and Ky decided they had given up on the idea.
Outside once again it was early morning, just about an hour before sunrise, when he heard a large commotion going on. He opened his eyes and saw his partner and the other man fighting with the guards.
They managed to get one of the guard’s guns and shot the other one. Both men were now armed. They raced to where the fat man was staying and broke down the door. Ky heard two shots ring out and then they came racing out. One had a rifle as well as the pistol. A large group of guards came running out of one of the buildings and the two men opened fire on them. Several went down before the rest ducked back inside. Everyone else was frozen in place, not knowing exactly what to do next.
Shots came from inside the building and everyone fell flat on the ground. A bullet kicked up the ground near where Ky was lying. It was obvious that the guards were just firing in all directions. His partner came running over to him.
“Here, take this,” he said holding out the pistol.
Ky didn’t move.
“Take it. We can get out of here,” the man insisted but Ky just lay there looking up at him.
“You coward,” he finally said and raced off.
Another man jumped up and went along with him. The three men made their way to the guard’s barracks and started shooting through the windows. Two guards came running out and were killed instantly.
“Come out without your weapons," one of the men yelled. He waited but nothing happened. “If you do not come out in one minute we will burn the building down with you inside. One minute. Come out and leave your weapons behind.”
A few seconds later the door opened and five guards came out with their hands up. The three men shot them immediately. Ky’s first thought was that they were all going to have to pay for this. They would probably all be shot before this was over.
The three men cautiously went inside the barracks and came out a minute later with another guard who had been hiding. They shoved him to his knees and shot him in the back of the head.
“Get up. Find food,” one of them yelled but no one moved. “Go. Eat. We will have to leave soon. One of them may have had time to get the alarm out. You had better eat while you can,” he said and raced off toward the building where the guards ate.
When they finally came out, Ky and the others had still not moved.
“You are all stupid. You stay here and you will die. We are going. Come with us now or take your chances,” he said and headed for the gate.
One of the trucks that had transported them here was just outside the gate and in a few minutes they started it and drove it into the compound.
“Last chance. If you want to go, get on right now,” he said leaning out the window.
Several men got up and climbed in the back of the truck. Ky was tempted but finally decided against it. He was not sure exactly why but he held back.
The truck pulled out leaving the rest of them in a cloud of dust. Ky decided he should at least eat before others came to check on the camp.
He walked over to the guard’s mess hall and found an icebox full of meat, vegetables, and other delights he had not had since being arrested.
He ate, stuffing his face full of anything he found. Soon others had joined in and an eating frenzy took place. Ky was amazed at how good something as simple as an apple could taste. He savored every bite, eating the core and seeds as well.
By the time he finished he was starting to feel sick. His stomach was not used to so much food. He went outside and sat on the ground. He did not want to throw up.
After the others came out Ky stood up and said, “What should we do now?”
“Wait.”
“But how long? We don’t know when they are coming back.”
“We wait as long as it takes.”
“But you know what they will do. They will try to accuse us of this as well. They may even say we did this.”
“They won’t think that. We wouldn’t be here if we did it.”
“Or they will say we are just being smart.”
“Then what do you think we should do? We can’t just walk out of here. Where would we go?”
“No, not leave. We go to the mines and continue to work. When they arrive we just come out and act as surprised. We will not know anything about it. It happened while we were working in the mine.”
“That will never work. They will make us confess. In the end we will all pay the price,” one of the others said.
“You may be right but what else can we do? If we leave they will hunt us down and kill us,” Ky said.
“We face the same thing if we stay.”
“You do what you want. I am going to take my chances staying and going back to work,” Ky said and started toward the mine.
Several others followed him to the tool shed and picked up their tools. They walked down the tunnel. It was no longer just a maze to them.
They stumbled to the latest area they had been mining and immediately started to work. They worked through the rest of the day. Finally, as they exhaustedly walked back down the long tunnel, the ground shook and knocked several of them to the ground.
“What happened?” several asked.
“Maybe they came and sealed the mine,” Ky said.
They raced down the tunnel to the opening but it was obvious that no one had sealed the entrance.
When they came out the first thing they noticed was that no one was any place to be seen. The sky had a strange mass of swirling clouds unlike anything he had ever seen before.
“What is that?” one man said, pointing to the sky.
“
I don’t know. Maybe the others are inside because of the weather,” Ky suggested and walked over to the bunk house. No one was inside.
“They have all left. All of them,” one of the others said.
“It certainly looks that way. They have left us here to face the music. I guess they couldn’t take the chance of seeing how the officials would react.”
“Then we are on our own.”
“It would seem so,” Ky said.
~~
They stayed at the mine until the food ran out. Finally they decided no one was going to come so they set off walking. It was a long way to Jincheng City.
While they were walking along they talked about what could have happened. They also wondered why all the vegetation was dead and why they had not seen a single person on any of the roads. They found several bikes along different paths but no one was around. The bikes had a strange material on them but no one knew what it was.
It took them two days to reach the city. Bicycles were lying everywhere and cars were left in the streets with no one in them. The same slime they had seen many times earlier was everywhere.
“What is going on here?” Ky asked, but no one had an answer.
“Where is everyone?”
“I do not know but something is definitely not right.”
“What should we do now?”
“Find food first and then we can decide what to do after our bellies are full. They went into a store and found no one inside. They went from place to place but it was apparent that no one was in the town. Finally they found food and sat and ate. Ky started laughing and the others just looked at him.
He finally said, “This is how I ended up in prison in the first place. Leaving without paying and here I am, right back where I started.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
RUSSIA
Some countries are fairly simple to understand when it comes to their names. Britain and the United Kingdom are easy to connect. America and the United States, seems simple enough but when it comes to Russia, well, that is entirely a different matter. Is it Russia or the Soviet Union or the USSR or CCCP?
THE BEGINNING Book Two (THE EVENT) Page 5